As BarentsObserver reported, Norway’s Governor to Svalbard earlier this winter demanded that Russia removed an illegally erected plant for å satellite station in Barentsburg. The plant was built in the summer of 2011 by the Russian State Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AANII), without necessary permission from the Governor, who is the highest authority on the archipelago.
The Governor has now prolonged the deadline for removal of the three large and heavy concrete foundations, giving AANII a possibility to get all the formal documents in order. According to Guri Tveito, adviser on environmental protection at the Governor’s office, the project would have been approved if everything had been done right, Nordlys writes.
The antennas for the satellite station will be delivered by the Tromsø-based company Spacetec.